


Look at Daddy

by kikabennet



Series: Raising Yevgeny Milkovich [22]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Cute Kids, Diabetes, Family Drama, Hospitals, Husbands, M/M, Married Life, married drama, no actual Yevgeny, when will I stop torturing this family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:21:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the "Raising Yevgeny Milkovich" series even though Yevgeny actually isn't in this story (it's about Gavrel). Ian and Mickey face more possible drama when Gavrel starts to lose energy and weight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> No Yevgeny (boo) but he'll be back. I want to thank you guys for the billionth and ninth time for keeping up with this series and all of the amazing comments and ideas and kudos and bookmarks. It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

 

“Fuck,” Mickey said, closing the refrigerator door, holding an almost empty pitcher of ice tea. “Who drank all the tea and put the pitcher back in the fridge?”

Ian walked into the kitchen in his workout clothes carrying Izzy. He was about to take her running with him.

“I just made that this morning,” he said, brows furrowing in confusion.

Mickey sighed and set the pitcher on the counter, digging around in the pantry for the box of brew teabags. Izzy took her thumb out of her mouth and said, “Gavvie drank it.”

“Gavvie?” Ian asked her. “Gavvie drank all that tea?”

“Yes.” She nodded.

“Gavrel!” Mickey called. “Get you ass in here!”

Gavrel came into the kitchen, looking genuinely perplexed. He looked at Mickey and asked in his little five-year-old way, “What, Daddy?”

Mickey held up the pitcher.

“You drank all this?” He asked, not really angry, just amused.

“I was thirsty,” Gavrel said.

“You sure were,” Ian said with a chuckle. He then frowned and asked, “You really drank all that?”

Gavrel nodded.

Mickey looked at Ian, eyebrows raised, and he could see that something was troubling his husband. Ian rubbed Gavrel's hair and hoisted Izzy up above his head, grunting dramatically like she was heavy.

“Ready to go?” He asked her, bringing her back to the level of his torso.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Gavvie?” He asked, an open invitation.

“No, I'm gonna stay here with Daddy,” Gavrel said, moving closer to Mickey, who rubbed his hair too.

After they left, Mickey asked, “Wanna watch a movie?”

“Yeah.” Gavrel smiled and followed Mickey around the kitchen as he popped a bag of popcorn and opened two juice boxes.

Yevgeny was spending the night with his friend, Donny, and would not return until the next morning so it was just Mickey and Gavvie, which was rare for them to be alone together. Before Izzy, Yevgeny had constantly ran around with Ian when Gavvie was just a baby so Mickey often kept him at home. He was still fond of the memories of the little infant snug in his arms as he watched a fight or sports game on television or even just laid on the couch in silence with the baby on top of his chest breathing softly.

They sat on the couch with their popcorn and juice and Mickey began scrolling through the movie choices. They settled on the new Justice League movie.

“I like Batman,” Gavrel announced, cramming handfuls of popcorn into his mouth.

“Yeah, Batman's cool,” Mickey agreed.

It wasn't ten minutes into the movie that the bag of popcorn was empty.

“Jesus Christ, Gavvie,” Mickey said, looking into the bag.

Gavrel wasn't paying attention because he was too busy staring intently at the TV screen, sucking on his juice box. After a while, he got up to go to the bathroom.

“Pause it, Daddy,” he ordered, scrambling off the couch and running up the stairs.

Mickey did as he was told and when Gavrel came back down, he started the movie again. This happened again twenty minutes later, and then another twenty minutes later. It was starting to bother Mickey. He didn't un-pause it just yet after the third time.

“The fuck are you doin' in there?” He asked.

“Peeing,” Gavrel answered earnestly.

“You pee that much?” Mickey frowned. “Well, I guess after all that tea you downed.”

“Daddy, start the movie,” Gavrel said.

Mickey started it again, but he didn't pay very close attention. How could he when Gavrel kept making him stop it so he could go upstairs to pee?

======================================================================================

When Ian and Izzy got back, Mickey abandoned the movie, which didn't hurt Gavrel's feelings because he was too into it and hardly even noticed his father's absence or his other father's return, and followed Ian into the kitchen.

“How was the run?” He asked.

“Good.” Ian nodded. “We went to the park. Hit the jogging trail. Izzy saw a snake and wanted me to try and catch it so she could keep it as a pet.”

Mickey nodded too. Ian took a sip of his water.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“Have you noticed how much Gavvie pees?” Mickey asked. “Is that normal? You think?”

“He drank a lot of tea,” Ian pointed out.

Mickey bit his bottom lip, his eyes moving toward the living room. When he turned back to Ian he said to Ian more quietly, “He's losin' weight too, I noticed.”

Ian set his water down and said, “I noticed that too. His 5T pants keep falling off him.”

“I mean, he goes to the park too,” Mickey said with a shrug. “You think he could have like, a tick or ringworm or some shit?”

He leaned against the refrigerator, his arms crossed.

“He also hasn't been off the walls like he normally is. You went fucking running and he stayed here.”

Ian pulled out his phone and sat down at the kitchen table. Mickey moved to sit in the chair next to him.

“Well, let's look up the symptoms. Maybe he did get ringworm or something,” Ian said, typing symptoms into his WEB MD application.

Mickey waited patiently as Ian browsed and browsed. After a while, Ian started to chew on the tip of his thumb-an unconscious habit of his when he was deep in concentration or nervous.

“Ringworm?” Mickey guessed. “Ain't that shit contagious?”

Ian looked up from his phone and there was real concern on his face.

“Mickey, these are symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes,” he said quietly.

“Diabetes?” Mickey frowned and took the phone from him. “Our kid ain't got Diabetes.”

He scrolled through and things that stood out were 'fatigue', 'weight loss', 'frequent urination', 'excessive thirst'-all the things they'd just discussed.

“Daddy!” Gavrel called. “Come on! Hurry! It's the Joker! The Joker, Daddy!”

“ 'm comin!” Mickey called, but looked at Ian, who scrubbed a hand down his mouth and then said softly, “fuck”.

=============================================================================

“Diabetes?” Fiona asked as she carried her son to the changing table.

“Yeah,” Ian said, following her. “Does it run in our family?”

“I wouldn't know to tell you the truth,” his sister replied, changing the baby's diaper. “That's something you'd have to ask Frank or Monica.”

Ian sighed and said, “Like they'd know.”

“You think you have Diabetes?” Fiona asked skeptically.

“I think Gavvie might,” Ian said and Fiona's eyes widened.

“Gavvie?” She repeated. “Oh my God, Ian.”

“He drinks and eats like it's nobody's business and then he's always peeing and he doesn't play as much anymore. He was never the TV kind of kid and now he just lays around watching it all day,” Ian explained.

“Well you need to get him checked out,” Fiona said, picking up the freshly diapered baby. “Ian, this could be serious.”

“I know,” Ian said, and then sighed. “It just-me bipolar, Gavvie, diabetic...what's wrong with my genes?”

==============================================================================

“Why are we at the doctor's?” Gavrel asked as he held Ian's hand, Mickey walking along side of them.

They had picked him up early from kindergarten for an appointment. The surprise didn't seem to bother him, but Gavrel was usually a very easy-going child anyway. As they stepped into the elevator at the hospital that would take them to the pediatric floor where their pediatrician's office was, a lady holding an infant smiled politely at them. Ian smiled back and Mickey looked away, not really good with stranger politeness.

“He looks just like you,” she told Ian, bouncing her baby slightly as it began to whimper. “Handsome little guy.”

“Thanks,” Ian said, stroking some of Gavrel's thick hair.

“Daddy, hold me,” Gavrel said, going to Mickey with his arms up.

This obviously confused their elevator friend, but she didn't ask questions. Mickey simply picked the five-year-old up and turned them both so they could outside of the clear elevator. When they reached Dr. Yadav's office, Ian went to fill out the paperwork and Mickey took Gavrel over to a small Lego table that was missing a lot of pieces. On a television mounted on the wall, a preschool TV show was playing. There were only a few other children waiting, both older than Gavrel. Ian joined them at the Lego table and squatted down, attacking Gavrel's face in kisses and growls.

“Stop it, Daddy,” Gavrel said, laughing. “These don't look like my Legos at the house.”

“That's because these Legos are from the fuckin' nineties,” Mickey said, observing one. “Bet these things are crawlin' with disease.”

“Gavrel?” A nurse asked, opening the door that led to the examination rooms.

“That's us,” Ian said, prodding their son to stand up. They all followed the nurse into the first room which had a scale.

Ian and Mickey waited silently as she measured his height and weighed him, and then looked in his eyes, ears, and throat.

“That red hair, though,” she joked with a hearty laugh.

Ian and Mickey chuckled politely. They followed her into another room with an examination table and colorful cartoon characters on the walls.

“Dr. Yadav will be with you shortly,” she said, and walked away.

Gavrel looked around.

“These are Snoopys,” he announced.

“Yup.” Ian nodded, looking at all of the Peanuts characters along the walls. He set Gavrel on the examination table and then hoisted himself up to sit beside him. The paper crinkled loudly beneath them. Gavrel laughed a little and wriggled his butt to make it noisier.

“Hello there!” Dr. Yadav, a kind, older Indian man said entering the room. “Oh, Gavrel. Yevgeny's brother, yes?”

“Yeah,” Mickey said. “And Izzy's, our girl.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” the doctor said, nodding and looking over Gavrel's chart. He looked up at Ian and Mickey with large glasses and a bushy mustache. “What brings you in today? Check up for school?”

“Actually, we're concerned about Gavvie,” Ian said. “He's been losing weight and not as active...”

“That could be a number of things,” the doctor said, nodding. “I did notice his weight-” he lifted Gavrel's shirt and gently prodded at his stomach.

“He's also thirsty as shit,” Mickey said. “And he pees like a goddamn race horse.”

Ian shot Mickey a look, but Dr. Yadav didn't seem concerned with his language. He looked in Gavrel's throat and listened to his heartbeat.

“I would like to do a blood test,”he said, removing the chest piece of the stethoscope from under Gavrel's shirt.

“For what?” Mickey wanted to know. “Think he might have a parasite or somethin'?”

“We will see,” Dr. Yadav said, scratching at his mustache. “The nurse will show you the way downstairs where it can be done, and then we can know more.”

He patted Gavrel on the shoulder, laughing softly.

“You are getting to be a very big, handsome man just like your parents,” he bubbled.

Gavrel smiled awkwardly and glanced at Ian and Mickey, who gave him a 'just humor the guy' look. Mickey helped him down from the table and they followed the doctor back to the front where he spoke to a nurse who nodded vigorously and then motioned for Ian and Mickey to follow her. They rode the elevator down with her and she briskly walked them across the lobby to another office with another waiting area, speaking to a nurse at the front desk. That nurse smiled at them and told them to have a seat. They sat.

“Where are we now?” Gavrel wanted to know. “This room has lots more chairs than the one upstairs.”

“Yeah,” Ian agreed, nodding. “We're gonna take a test here. A blood test. They're gonna take some blood out of your arm and take it to a top secret lab to see what's making you pee so much.”

Gavrel, who was on his knees, hands on the back of the chair, frowned at Ian.

“They're gonna take blood out of my arm?” He repeated.

“Like a shot,” Mickey said. “You get shots. You handle them a hell of a lot better than Izzy. My God. Two nurses to hold a fuckin' three-year-old still.”

“I don't wanna get a shot,” Gavrel said, pouting. “I just pee a lot because I have a lot of pee.”

“Yeah, but it's making you too skinny,” Mickey told him. “Pee any more and I can fold you up and stick you in my wallet.”

“Milkovich?” A woman in a salmon-colored uniform looked around and Ian and Mickey stood up. She waved them over to another room.

“Is this his first blood test?” She asked, nodding at a chair against a table.

Ian prodded Gavrel to sit down.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Okay, Honey,” she said, smiling at Gavrel. “I'm going to tie this band around your arm and it's going to feel like a funny balloon.”

“A balloon on my arm!” Gavrel grinned at his fathers, like the idea was absurd it was funny.

The nurse tied it around his upper arm and then looked between Ian and Mickey.

“You might want to play something on your phone to distract him,” she suggested.

Mickey squatted down next to him and took a quarter from his pocket. Gavrel smiled, already knowing he was going to spin it. The kids loved it when Mickey did tricks with coins or spun them or flipped them. He turned his attention briefly to the nurse, who was cleaning his upper arm with an alcohol wipe.

“Spin it again, Daddy!” Gavrel said, and Mickey did so.

“Heads or tails?” Mickey asked as it spun on its own.

“Tails!” Gavrel said, and then noticed the needle and began to whimper.

“Look, look! It's tails!” Ian said, trying to sound excited, but Gavrel was already done with the coin. He was completely focused on the needle.

“Hey, look at me,” Mickey said, snapping his fingers to get his attention. “Look at Daddy, alright? Look at me, Gav.”  
Gavrel looked at Mickey quickly, but started to turn back to the needle that was just starting to prick his skin. He cried out.

“I'm sorry,” the nurse said, flustered. “It's a little harder to find veins the first time around in kids. They're smaller.”

Mickey bit his bottom lip to keep from spouting off something at her, and then turned Gavrel's head gently with his hand. Ian was already working on pulling up an amusing video on his phone. The needle went in again and Gavrel began to cry.

“Daddy!” He whimpered, not to any 'Daddy' in particular.

“It's okay,” Mickey said, rubbing his hair. “You're doin' great, Gavvie.”

“You really are,” the nurse added, trying to be helpful. “And we're done.”

She pressed a piece of gauze to the needle mark. Ian kissed the top of Gavrel's hair. Gavrel still sniffled as the nurse unfastened the band around his upper arm. She looked at Mickey and asked quietly, “What's his name? Gavin?”

“Gavrel,” Ian and Mickey answered together.

“Gavrel?” She asked him. “Would you like a sticker? I have Spiderman stickers!”

============================================================================

It seemed like eons before the blood work came back and when they were finally called back to Dr. Yadav's office two days later, they didn't even bother taking Gavrel to school.

“I would like to take an AC1 test,” he said, looking over the results. “Just to be sure, but I am prepared to diagnose Gavrel with Type 1 Diabetes.”

Ian put his face in his hands briefly and Mickey mouthed a foul word. Gavrel, playing with a Yo-Yo he'd brought along, hardly paid attention to the adults.

“Now, this is very manageable,” Dr. Yadav continued. “And there has been great leaps in the Diabetes treatment, but if the AC1 test proves positive, I will set up counseling with a specialist.”

“Thank you, Dr. Yadav,” Ian said, and told Mickey, “We need to call Svetlana. Let her know what's going on.”

All they had told her was he was going for a check up because they didn't want her to overreact if it was going to turn out to be nothing.

“Come on, tough guy,” Mickey said, playfully pulling at Gavrel's ear. “Get your Yo-Yo.”

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter, and I'd really really REALLY appreciate it if someone can give me any tips on writing diabetes info b/c I'm doing all of my research on mommy info type boards and I want to get it right. Thanks! I appreciate all the feedback and kudos as well! As rotten as Shameless has been lately, it's happy Gallavich fics that keep us going!

“I don't know how we're gonna do it,” Ian said as he and Mickey prepared for bed. Tomorrow would come early for them, and for Svetlana and Alex, because the four of them were going to speak with a special counselor about Gavrel's diagnosis.

“We're just gonna have to make it work,” Mickey said simply, climbing into bed. “It's the only thing we can do, right?”

Ian slid in under the covers beside him. For several minutes, neither of them said anything. They just listened to the other one breathe. Mickey turned his head to look at Ian, who was staring up at the ceiling, one arm behind his head.

“My genes are all fucked up,” Ian muttered.

“It could've been any of them,” Mickey said softly.

“But it had to be Gavvie?” Ian turned to look at him. “The one who's sperm donor is fucking bipolar?”

“You're not his 'sperm donor', alright?” Mickey said, frowning. “You're his fuckin' father, and what's bipolar disorder got to do with it? The kid's diabetic.”

He sat up and said with an exasperated sigh, “It could be your genes, Svetlana's genes, nobody's genes...we'll get through it, though.”

Ian turned his head back to face the ceiling. Mickey leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“Fucking drama queen,” he murmured into his skin, and Ian couldn't help but smile.

==========================================================================================

Yevgeny watched Ian pack a bag for Gavrel in the bedroom the boys shared. It wasn't even six in the morning yet, and Gavrel was still asleep in his bed, snoring and unaware that the light was on and his father was noisily moving around shutting dresser drawers and moving around in the closet.

“Why does Gavvie have to go to the hospital?” Yevgeny asked, his voice foggy with sleep.

“It will help the doctor decide how much insulin he'll need,” Ian explained, picking up one Gavrel's shirts from the floor and smelling it. He tossed it in the laundry basket near the door where the boys put their dirty clothes.

“A boy in my grade has diabetes,” Yevgeny said. “He has to prick his fingers a lot. He's always showing us his callouses.”

“You're always showing us your callouses,” Ian replied with a half smile.

Yevgeny looked proudly at his own calloused hands. His callouses were from the monkey bars. All of the kids in the third grade had callouses from the monkey bars. It was a third grade rite of passage. Mickey walked into the room carrying Izzy.

“Gavvie's not awake yet?” He asked, looking at the little red-head snoring into his pillow.

“I'll wake him up when we get ready to leave,” Ian told him, stuffing more clothes into the bag.

Mickey set Izzy down and knelt down beside Gavrel on the bed. Ian stopped what he was doing and watched him.

“Hey, Man, wake up,” Mickey said, gently shaking the five-year-old.

“It's time for school?” Gavrel slurred, lifting his head, blinking slowly.

“Remember, we're going to the hospital,” Mickey said. “Talk to some doctors? You're getting' a little break from school.”

“Mama's going?” Gavrel asked, sitting up all the way, his red hair sticking out in every direction.

“Yeah, Mama's going.” Mickey picked him up and Gavrel laid his head on his shoulder.

“I'm going too?” Izzy asked.

“You're staying with Aunt Fiona,” Ian told her. “You and Yevvie.”

“Daddy, I have to pee,” Gavrel said, snaking his way out of Mickey's arms. He traveled to the bathroom and came back only in his underwear and proceeded to get dressed.

A knock sounded at the door and Ian said, “That must be Lana and Alex.”

Mickey traveled downstairs with Izzy hot on his butt and opened the door. Svetlana came in and Izzy moved to hug her.

“Where's Alex?” Mickey asked.

“He is working,” she replied. “I tell him it's okay. He is doctor. The information will not be news to him.”

Mickey sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

“Can't believe this shit is happening to us,” he said.

“My father was diabetic,” Svetlana said simply with a shrug. “He stop taking insulin. Go blind. Then he died.”

Mickey didn't know what to say to that so he awkwardly said, “Sorry to hear that.”

Svetlana shook her head, making a face.

“My father was drunken asshole,” she said.

Ian came downstairs toting a duffel bag with Gavrel and Yevgeny behind him. The other two children moved to hug their mother and she gave them a hug and kissed their faces. She held Gavrel a little longer and then lifted his shirt, taking a breath.

“He is really losing weight,” she said, fingering his stomach. “I thought it was growth spurt.”

“We'll get it all sorted out,” Mickey said. He playfully kicked Gavrel in the seat of his pants. “Right, Kiddo?”

“Alright,” Ian said, handing Mickey the bag. “I'm gonna take Yev and Izzy to Fiona's and I'll meet you at the hospital.”

“Sounds good,” Mickey told him and snapped his fingers at his kids, making them come to him like puppies. He took Yevgeny's face in his hands and kissed his forehead and picked Izzy up to give her a big cheek kiss.

“Be good,” he told them. “Call me, Ian, or Mom if you need somethin'.”

Svetlana gave them a hug and kiss too. Ian picked up Izzy and the three of them walked outside. Izzy took her thumb out of her mouth and looked back towards the front door.

“Gavvie too,” she said.

“No, not Gavvie,” Ian said, sounding a little sad. “Not today, Iz.”

==================================================================================

Yevgeny wished he could have gone to the hospital too. After Fiona dropped him off at school, he could hardly concentrate. He wondered what kind of things were going on at the hospital. When he'd been hit by a truck and had to stay in the hospital for a while, he remembered lots of tubes hooked up to him the first few days, and a bedpan (which he'd hated severely), and a flock of nurses-both men and women constantly checking his eyes, mouth, torso, and breathing.

In gym class, he watched the boy he knew had diabetes. Andrew was his name, and he looked like any other kid. He played crab soccer just as well as any other kid. He was loud and got in trouble sometimes, just like any other kid. Yevgeny made sure to sit next to him as they got in four lines to form a big square, preparing for crab soccer-a game where one crawled around on their hands and feet like a crab trying to kick an over-sized ball over one of the lines.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Andrew replied.

Yevgeny decided to cut right to the chase.

“You have diabetes, right?” He asked.

Andrew nodded, watching as the coach threw the ball into the square. He was already raising his hand to get picked to go out first.

“Yeah,” he told Yevgeny, hardly paying attention.

“Does it hurt?” Yevgeny wanted to know.

“Pick me!” Andrew cried, and then furrowed his brows at Yevgeny. “Does what hurt?”

Yevgeny shrugged. “Diabetes.”

“When I first had to prick myself it hurt,” Andrew replied casually. “But not anymore. I don't even notice.”

The coach picked Andrew and he sped away on his hands and feet into the mob of kids to kick the ball. Yevgeny didn't ask him any more questions when he got back in line.

============================================================================================

Ian, Mickey, and Svetlana sat in the small room surrounded with other parents with recently diagnosed children. Gavrel had only had to spend two nights in the hospital, and now they were in a group counseling session, staring at the dietrician blankly as the other parents nodded. They felt like they were in a play but did not know their lines. She explained that they would now be monitoring their children's meals closely-counting carbohydrates, their sugar intake, when they ate.

“Now, the no sugar idea is a myth,” she told them. “Cake and cookies are okay sometimes, just like it should be for any child.”

The good thing was, Mickey thought, was that Ian already had a pretty strict diet and was obsessed with what he ate. He could start off monitoring Gavrel's diet and Svetlana and Mickey could fall in step. They would have to, just in case Ian went off the deep end and could not care for him.

A nurse came to speak to the group next, showing parents how to give distribute insulin shots and what to look for if things go wrong. After that, a family counselor came in to discuss the emotional issues parents and children might face.

Mickey saw Ian squirm uncomfortably in his chair, sinking down and biting his thumb, a sign he was worried. Mickey took his hand, pulling his thumb from his husband's mouth, and held it in his own. Svetlana had a million questions, and Mickey and Ian waited patiently for her to get each and every one answered.

=========================================================================================

“No! I won't!” Gavrel screamed from inside the bathroom. He'd locked his parents out.

“Gavvie, it's okay, Son,” Ian said, squatting down on the balls of his feet, holding the door knob. “Remember? We practiced a million times on your dinosaur?”

It was time for Gavrel to get his first finger prick. They'd spent a few days letting him prick his toys, but now that it was time for the real thing, he'd run upstairs and shut himself in the bathroom. Mickey sighed, scrubbing a hand down his mouth.

“Open the door, Gavrel,” he said firmly.

“No!” Gavrel cried, kicking the other side of the door. “Go away from me!”

Izzy and Yevgeny stood by awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Yevgeny could see that Ian and Mickey were becoming frustrated, but it wasn't the kind of situation they could just punish Gavrel for either.

“Do you want me to call Mom?” Mickey threatened, feeling insignificant for having to resort to _that_ threat.

Gavrel wailed pitifully from the other side. All of the Milkovich children knew that they could get away with something when it came to Mickey or Ian, maybe get away if it was Ian and Mickey together, but never Svetlana. Their mother was one hundred percent no nonsense.

“Gavvie?” Yevgeny rapped on the door. “Can I come in?”

“No!” Gavrel whimpered. “You'll let Daddy and Daddy Ian!”

“No, I won't,” Yevgeny said, glancing at his parents. “Just me. I promise.”

“Can I go?” Izzy asked.

“Can Izzy come in too?” Yevgeny repeated.

Gavrel stopped sniffling for a few seconds. They all knew he was thinking it over.

“Tell Daddy and Daddy Ian to go into their bedroom and shut the door,” he said.

“Gavrel, fuck-” Mickey began, irritated, but Ian put a hand over his mouth.

“Okay, we're going,” he said, and dragged Mickey away. He stood in front of their door and opened and closed it.

“They won't come in,” Yevgeny promised.

Gavrel opened the door just a crack and saw his parents. Yevgeny tugged Izzy forward and brought her into the bathroom with him. He shut the door behind his baby sister, and locked it. Gavrel looked at him with eyes full of tears and a red face.

“I don't want that finger prick thing,” he told his brother.

Yevgeny remembered back to when he was hospital-bound and didn't want to use a bed pan. He sat on the floor and said, “I know you don't, but it will keep you from getting sick. A kid in my class has diabetes too, and he pricks his fingers and hardly even notices anymore.”

“It will hurt,” Gavrel whined, breaking down it tears all over again.

“Only for a second,” His brother told him. “And when you do it lots of times it won't hurt anymore probably. Kind of like how I can put a safety pin in my finger and it doesn't hurt.”

Izzy knocked at the door and called, “Hello?”

“Hello,” Ian called back in a flat voice. “Gav, you ready to come out now?”

“I want Yevvie to do it!” Gavrel said. “Only Yevvie and if you try to do it I'll lock myself in here forever and live in the bathtub! And you'll never EVER get to use the shower!”

Yevgeny tried his best to hide his smile. He pulled his little brother into a hug and kissed his forehead. He then stood up and opened the door, and Gavrel reluctantly followed him out. Ian tried to touch Gavrel, but he pulled away.

“Only Yevvie, huh?” Mickey asked. “Little butthole.”

“Who?” Izzy asked.

“All of you,” Mickey replied.

They all went downstairs to the living room and Ian carefully demonstrated to Yevgeny how to correctly prick his brother's finger. Yevgeny nodded, trying not to look impatient. He'd already been through this a hundred times with the online tutorials from the health websites and all of the toys and all of the pretend pricking the family did on one another.

“Are you ready?” He asked Gavrel, feeling guilty for feeling proud to be the one to do this.

Gavrel nodded, and looked at his parents.

“It's okay,” Ian said.

“Ow!” Gavrel said, but more theatrically than anything. It really didn't hurt that much. Nothing like the two separate blood tests he'd had.

“All that whinin' for nothin',” Mickey said, ruffling his hair.

Gavrel hugged his brother. Izzy hugged both of them.

 


End file.
